First Solo Brew ever! PM (kindof)

This is the day I have been waiting for. I was so nervous. The only brewing I have done is with a brewclub clinic and it was extract. I decided to give brewing a shot but skipped the extracts and went for PM. I did a few things I am not sure about but the final result looked ok.

First: I did not steep the grains in a bag. I built an 10 Gal Igloo MLT with a T-type braid and added my grains in there. Recipe called for 155 deg and I was a little low (151). I let that sit for 45 minutes then rinsed the grains with 1.75 quarts of water ( it was only 3.5 lbs). I collected all I could and then added water I had been heating approx 6.5 gallons and did a full boil with this.

Second: I used beersmith to determine water needed but I was not sure of what I was doing. It said 6.92 gallons. Halfway through the boil I checked with my spoon which is notched at 5 gallons and it was just a bit above my mark so I got scared. I added 2 quarts of pre-boiled water and the rest of my LME. I added half at the start of the boil.

Third: Chiller arms too short. I did not realize this until i was ready to chill. I figured since it came with my kit it would work, but next time I will make the arms longer and taller so the joints are not sitting over my wort. Chiller did not leak but the last 10 degrees were pretty slow going.

In the middle of my brewing session I had to move into the garage cause the wind was kicking up. Seemed like everything was going wrong. I got done and used my sample thief to check SG and i read 1.046 and looked at recipe and it said 1.05! After all the worrying everything seemed to work out. Thank the beer gods!

I learned alot about my setup today. Will be building a pre-chiller and some kind of tier setup. Moving things around is a PITA especially when you set up then have to move indoors.

Thanks for all your help guys. Without this site I don't think I would have ever tried this.....now I'm hooked.

You do learn a lot on the first try don't you? I dunno with a 10 gallon cooler and doing full boils you may as well go all grain and be done with the extract.

Also instead of a prechiller consider using ice water pumped and recirculated through your existing chiller. It cools faster.
Sort of like this >> http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=38235

Blender said:

You do learn a lot on the first try don't you? I dunno with a 10 gallon cooler and doing full boils you may as well go all grain and be done with the extract.

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When I ordered my recipe kit I did not know that the reason people did PM was because they could not do full boils. If I had know I would have just ordered all grain. I have the equipment for all grain and I really struggled to decide how to best utilize the PM recipe I had. One thing I did not realize is how much work it was to wash everything and get it setup for brewing. I was worn out after brewing and since it was the first batch I could not RDWHAHB.

It gets easier once you experiance it. From now on you are going to experiance great beer in that you are in control of the brewing process. Find a recipe you like on this forum and make it and you will be reworded with great flavor. I suggest a pale ale with adequate hops shuch as Biermunchers pale ale recipe. It's easy and very good too.

Believe me, it gets much easier each time, too. After you learn your equipment, and your procedure, it'll become much more natural to you. In my first few AG brews, I missed my strike temps, ran out of sparge water, almost had a boilover, took too long to cool, etc. But after three or four times, I had a rhythm going and felt much more comfortable.

It sounds like you're all set for AG! I really like the 10 gallon round cooler for an MLT and with that you can mash ALOT of grain! I've only done 5 gallon batches, but I've never maxed it out. I'm hoping that when I get a keggle (a friend is selling me one) I can do 10 gallon batches. It seems like the same amount of work for twice as much beer!

Sounds like you did a great job for the first time, and I bet you'll be very happy with the results!

Congrats! Like folks say, each batch will get easier and better, then one day you nail it. By then you are hooked!

Welcome to the institution, er, rather, club!

First day was a little scary. I think the temp got too cold for fermentation the first night. A slight cold front is moving thru West Texas and we are seeing low 50's at night. Since my fermentation box is in the garage I checked the temp inside the morning after brewing and it was 62 degrees in the garage. When I got home from work I moved it into the house and put it in a water bath and now its churning away like a champ. Either my yeasties were not strong enough after 12 hours or the cold made them dormant. Either way now its got a nice Krausen going and bubbles every few minutes.

Don't worry if you're not fermenting withing 12 hours. some can taek 12,24,72 hours even to show signs of starting.